First United Methodist Church of Nacogdoches
Nacogdoches, Nacogdoches County, Texas
Marker Inscription
At least one Methodist sermon was preached in Nacogdoches before 1821, according to tradition. After religious freedom was established by the Republic of Texas, missionary Littleton Fowler (1803-1846) preached here on Oct. 16, 1837, and soon founded this church. This was the first Protestant congregation organized in Nacogdoches after the Texas War for Independence. It began as an 18-member "Methodist Society." Volunteering for service in Texas, the Rev. Samuel A. Williams came here from Tennessee in 1838 as the first pastor. By 1850, the Methodists were known as the most active Protestants in the town; by 1860 there had been 12 or more successive pastors. After meeting in homes and other places, this congregation built a church across the street from this site in 1860. a larger frame church, built in 1887 on this site, was lost in a fire in 1907. A brick building was erected in 1910. In 1925 this congregation participated in the founding of Perritte Memorial Methodist Church, on the west side of the city. In 1929 it helped establish a bible chair at Stephen F. Austin State Teachers' College (later a state university). The present church building was completed in 1969.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Once the Republic of Texas guaranteed religious freedom, the missionary Littleton Fowler preached in Nacogdoches in October 1837 and soon gathered an eighteen-member "Methodist Society" — the first Protestant congregation organized in the town after Texas independence. Led by a succession of pastors, the Methodists became the town's most active Protestants by 1850 and built their first church in 1860. Later buildings burned and were rebuilt, and the congregation helped found a college bible chair and a sister church before completing its present home in 1969.
Why it matters
This congregation marks the opening of Protestant worship in a former Catholic Mexican province, a small but telling sign of how independence reshaped the religious life of Texas.
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Related people
- · Littleton Fowler
- · Samuel A. Williams
Themes & tags
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